America Achieves

Building a Good Jobs Economy for America.

America Achieves' vision is to help local communities and states ensure that everyone has a clear path to a good job and a career with upward mobility—no matter who they are, where they live, or whether they have a college degree.

Learn more about Our Work

The U.S. is transitioning to a fast-paced innovation and knowledge economy, but education and workforce systems haven’t kept up, leaving many workers and communities behind.

We help local and state partners align the supply of talent with high-growth economic sectors and in-demand occupations to unlock opportunities—focusing on overlooked communities and the people who have long called those places home.

+1.2 million

We have 1.2 million more job openings than unemployed workers in the U.S.

50%

90% of children born in the 1940s earned more than their parents, the same is true of only 50% of children born in the 1980s.

62 weeks

A family of four required 40 weeks of median wages to afford the annual cost of living in 1985, but by 2022 it required 62 weeks of wages each year.

How We Do What We Do

Support State and Regional Intermediaries

We support and partner with trusted local intermediaries and coalitions to develop their capacity and co-fund proven programs that connect job seekers to high-demand careers. Our interest is in bridging the gap between employer needs and local talent, empowering communities with access to good jobs in thriving industries.

Inform and Champion Bipartisan Public Policy

We help policymakers design policies that create educational and skill pathways to good jobs. Our track record includes helping to secure funding for the bipartisan Regional Tech Hubs Program and a bipartisan reauthorization of the Economic Development Administration (EDA). We collaborate with leaders across the aisle to align education, workforce, and employer initiatives—ensuring access to good-paying careers for all to expand the economy and middle class.

Share What Works

We collaborate with local and state partners to identify what works, distill the insights, and share them widely for greater impact. We aim to influence the expansion of evidence-based practices, programs, policies, and investments.

Who We Are

America Achieves has an outstanding team of advisors, and partners that include expert practitioners in regional economic and workforce development, city planning, education, state and local government, public policy, and strategic communications.
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The organization is led by Jon Schnur, a veteran social entrepreneur who has launched a series of successful non-profit organizations focused on workforce development and education, and who has championed bipartisan public policy in workforce development, economic development, and education.
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Our funders and other partners include Blue Meridian Partners, Brookings Metro, George Kaiser Family Foundation, MacKenzie Scott, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, McKinsey & Company, the Strada Education Foundation, StriveTogether, and many others.

What We’ve Done

For more than a decade, America Achieves has incubated high-performing initiatives, launched new nonprofit organizations, and partnered with local leaders focused on making their communities better places to live, learn, work, and raise a family—with special focus on those who have been left behind.